Chapter 5044: As if facing a formidable enemy

“I fear this matter won’t end so easily.”

Another voice spoke in a low tone, turning to the elder seated at the head of the table with solemn gravity: ” The guards who returned alive already brought word from that woman. She said that if our Cheng family sent generous gifts and apologized in person, the matter would be settled. But instead of sending apologies, we dispatched four Supreme-level experts to annihilate the Song family. Now those four are dead. If I’m not mistaken, the next target will likely be our Cheng family.”

The hall fell silent at these words. Clearly, they too had considered this possibility.

“Could she alone have killed all four of them? Perhaps she had hidden allies. That might explain their deaths,” Cheng Wanshan said, still finding it hard to believe that a single woman could have slain four Supreme-level masters of the Cheng family.

“The question now isn’t who killed those four,” an elderly man seated at the back of the hall shook his head and sighed. “It’s what we must do next to protect our Cheng family. If we mishandle this, it could spell the annihilation of our entire clan! Had we known this day would come, we should have sent someone to their doorstep back then. None of this would have happened.”

His voice trailed off before he continued, “The Supreme Elder stands at the pinnacle of power, surpassing all of us in strength. Within the entire Cheng family, only the Patriarch slightly outranks him. Consider this: what kind of being could kill him—and do so without even giving him a chance to relay any message to us?”

“Could it be someone from one of the reclusive families?” someone asked, deep in thought.

The elder shook his head, sighing softly. “I fear our entire Cheng family may face annihilation. This matter is no trivial affair. We cannot sit idly by waiting for doom. We must make arrangements early to avoid being caught unprepared.”

“Hmm, that was precisely my intention,” the Patriarch in the seat of honor nodded. “Cancel the birthday banquet! Have the mansion make the necessary arrangements. Additionally…”

His hand paused mid-stroke on his beard, clutching at the hair as hesitation washed over him. “Send the younger generation of Cheng descendants away immediately. Let them lie low for now. If our family survives this ordeal, they may return.”

Hearing this, the mood among the assembled grew heavy. Having seen too much of the world, they knew they had misjudged this situation and been careless. Things needn’t have escalated to this point, but now…

“Everyone, there’s no need to overthink this. After all, we still have so many people here. The situation may not be beyond redemption.” Cheng Wanshan spoke, hoping to ease their minds, but no one paid him any mind.

Those present had lived long enough. Could they not recognize their fate when it stared them in the face?

“I’ll make preparations first—deploying a defensive formation throughout the estate.” An elder rose, announced his intention, and departed.

“I’ll prepare as well,” another declared, rising to follow.

The others departed one after another. Finally, only the Cheng family patriarch and Cheng Wanshan remained in the hall. Looking at the empty meeting chamber, Cheng Wanshan’s expression darkened. “Patriarch…”

The patriarch rose and waved his hand. “Enough. No need to say more. Go make the arrangements. Close the doors to visitors. Cancel the birthday banquet. Also, select a group of Cheng family descendants to send away today.”

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